Any hope?

[binkiessince2010]

So I got Charlie for an early Christmas present. He is a 5 year old rescue male. He has been transferred maybe 4,5 times, between different families. Because of this, Charlie has a bonding issue. Not only does he not get along with most other bunnies, he doesn’t like humans. (When we first went to meet him, he growled and attacked my mom’s pant leg…LOL) It took around a month for him to get used to me, and we are STILL working on trust… When friends come over, they can’t pet him unless they have treats, and he only stays around while the treat is in his mouth. LOL. Unfortunately, he’s a SUPER soft mini rex, and people can’t resist petting him. Not only that, but he absolutely WILL NOT allow me to hold him. It’s not just annoying, but i’m worried that he might get hurt sometime and I wont be able to get him to the vet…… I’d also like him to have playdates with other buns in my neighborhood….

Is there any hope of him socializing do you think? Any tips for bonding with him? Any tips for bonding with other bunnies?

Thanks in advance!

[tobyluv]

With his history, it seems like it will take a while for him to fully trust people. Hopefully, with time and patience, he will come to accept and like the attention. Most rabbits do hate being picked up and they can be hard to handle when they are squirming and flailing around, and can also get injured, so you do have to handle them very carefully, maybe wrapping them in a towel or blanket to make them more still. If you did ever have to take him to the vet, you would want to have a carrier right there at hand. You could try to lead him into it with a treat if it is side opening, or just quickly pick him up and get him in it before he realizes what is happening.

As far as playdates, rabbits should be carefully bonded through a process. Bonding him would mean that the other rabbit would live with him on a permanent basis. Occasional casual meetings with other rabbits would not work. It would cause confusion, and there would likely be fighting resulting in injuries if proper bonding procedures weren’t followed.

Is he neutered? Before any bonding can take place, both rabbits should be spayed or neutered and recovered from their surgeries.

Here are a couple of good articles on bonding:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/

[binkiessince2010]

Posted By tobyluv on 5/15/2016 7:53 PM

With his history, it seems like it will take a while for him to fully trust people. Hopefully, with time and patience, he will come to accept and like the attention. Most rabbits do hate being picked up and they can be hard to handle when they are squirming and flailing around, and can also get injured, so you do have to handle them very carefully, maybe wrapping them in a towel or blanket to make them more still. If you did ever have to take him to the vet, you would want to have a carrier right there at hand. You could try to lead him into it with a treat if it is side opening, or just quickly pick him up and get him in it before he realizes what is happening.

As far as playdates, rabbits should be carefully bonded through a process. Bonding him would mean that the other rabbit would live with him on a permanent basis. Occasional casual meetings with other rabbits would not work. It would cause confusion, and there would likely be fighting resulting in injuries if proper bonding procedures weren’t followed.

Is he neutered? Before any bonding can take place, both rabbits should be spayed or neutered and recovered from their surgeries.

Here are a couple of good articles on bonding:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/

 

He is neutered. The links look helpful, thanks so much!

[Author]

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